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A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

by T. Kingfisher

★★★★☆ 4.05 (70 019 ratings)
2020 · 306 pages · ~5h 6m read · Fiction

Fourteen-year-old Mona isn't a typical wizard; her magic only works on bread. She spends her days at her aunt's bakery, making gingerbread men dance. However, her life is upended when she finds a dead body on the floor and realizes a killer is targeting mages. With the city's defenders gone, Mona must use her unconventional talents-and a sentient sourdough starter-to protect her home. This whimsical yet dark fantasy offers a unique magic system and a courageous, relatable young protagonist.

A well-known book with a dedicated readership.

Atmosphere: FantasticalVibe: LightPacing: Relaxing
magicadventurecoming-of-age

Notable Quotes

"You expect heroes to survive terrible things. If you give them a medal, then you don't ever have to ask why the terrible thing happened in the first place. Or try to fix it."
"You didn’t fail,” I said. “They wouldn’t let you succeed. It’s different."
"But I shouldn’t have had to do any of it. There should have been so many grown-ups who should have fixed things before it got down to me and Spindle. It doesn’t make you a hero just because everybody else didn’t do their job."

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